Casino Alternative Offered by Rep. Stumbo

With casino gambling legislation stalled in the Kentucky House, Rep. Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg is offering an alternative.

House leaders say they still don’t have the votes to call casino legislation for a floor vote, so Rep. Greg Stumbo is proposing a compromise that would allow slot machines and video poker at existing Kentucky horse tracks. Stumbo believes the facilities could generate around 400-million dollars a year for the state.

“Casinos make about 85-percent of their profits off electronic gaming devices, so if 500-million is the figure everybody is using, 80-percent of that is 400-million,” Stumbo said.

Governor Steve Beshear offered legislation calling for 12 full-blown casinos in Kentucky, including seven at horse tracks. House members whittled that down to nine casinos, five of which MAY be at horse tracks. The legislation has been stalled for more than a week for lack of votes.